God’s purpose in our lives is greater than simply helping us become better people. He is working to replace our natural human reactions with the very nature of Christ.
This transformation does not happen through determination, self-improvement, or human effort. It comes as we submit to the Lord and allow Him to deal with the things within us that do not reflect His heart.
Scripture often describes God’s work in our lives as a refining fire. Fire reveals what is genuine and removes what cannot remain.
“He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”
— Malachi 3:2–3
The Lord’s fire is not intended to destroy us. It burns away the dross—the hidden fears, attachments, pride, self-preservation, and reactions that keep us from fully expressing Christ.
We may not always understand what God is doing while we are in the fire. Trials can feel uncomfortable and confrontive. Yet, when we yield to Him, the process produces greater freedom, peace, and spiritual maturity.
Our natural response during difficulty is often to protect ourselves. We may defend our actions, resist correction, withdraw from others, or try to control the circumstances.
God leads us in another direction. He calls us to trust Him and surrender.
The three Hebrew men in Daniel 3 were thrown into the fiery furnace because they refused to worship another god. The fire did not destroy them. Instead, they encountered the presence of God within it.
Their experience reminds us that the Lord does not always keep us from the fire, but He faithfully meets us in it.
Victory does not come through escaping every difficult situation. It comes as we discover that Christ is present and working within us through it.
The dealings of God are an expression of His love.
“For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”
— Hebrews 12:6
God’s discipline is not rejection. It is evidence that we belong to Him. A loving Father corrects, trains, and matures His children because He desires them to share in His holiness.
The Lord is not merely correcting our outward behavior. He is forming His nature within us. He is teaching us to respond with His patience, humility, love, and peace.
Human reactions are often shaped by emotions, memories, disappointments, and fear. We respond according to what we feel in the moment.
Christ responded differently.
When Jesus was falsely accused and mistreated, He did not react through anger or self-defense.
“He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter.”
— Isaiah 53:7
This does not mean that Jesus was weak or passive. His response came from complete surrender to the Father. He was not controlled by the actions of others.
God desires to bring us into that same freedom. Instead of being ruled by circumstances, we begin responding out of the life of Christ within us.
God’s ultimate purpose is that we become partakers of His divine nature.
“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.”
— 2 Peter 1:4
This does not mean that we become God. It means that His character, love, peace, faithfulness, and righteousness increasingly find expression through our lives.
The Lord takes us through different levels of growth. At each level, He reveals something that must be surrendered and produces new spiritual fruit within us.
We are His workmanship. Christ Himself is accomplishing the work as we continue yielding to Him.
Spiritual oneness is not created by people agreeing on every subject or having the same personality. It is produced as the nature of Christ is formed within each member of His Family.
The soul separates because it seeks its own way. Christ’s nature brings people together through love, humility, and submission to the Father.
As human reactions are removed, we become more capable of hearing one another, forgiving one another, and walking together in the Spirit.
God is preparing a people who respond to every situation from His heart rather than their own.
Malachi 3:2–3 — God purifies His people as a refiner purifies silver.
Daniel 3:16–25 — God meets the three Hebrew men in the fiery furnace.
Hebrews 12:6–11 — The Lord’s discipline demonstrates His love and produces righteousness.
Isaiah 53:7 — Christ responded to suffering without reacting through the flesh.
Ephesians 2:10 — We are God’s workmanship, created for His purposes.
Romans 8:29 — God is conforming believers to the image of His Son.
2 Peter 1:3–8 — Believers are called to become partakers of the divine nature.
God is not simply improving our humanity. He is forming the nature of Christ within us.
The fire of His dealings removes what cannot remain, but it also releases greater peace, freedom, and spiritual fruit. As we stop defending ourselves and begin submitting to Him, Christ faithfully completes the work.
The goal is that our responses no longer come from fear, pride, or wounded emotions, but from the love and nature of God living within us.
What human reaction does God seem to be dealing with in my life right now?
Do I view the Lord’s correction as rejection, or as evidence of His love and sonship?
How can I respond from the nature of Christ instead of reacting from fear or self-preservation?
What spiritual fruit has God produced through a past season of testing?
2 Responses
You state: “The soul separates because it seeks its own way. Christ’s nature brings people together through love, humility, and submission to the Father.”
This is a falacy in that understanding the first great commandment we are to love the Lord with all of our soul. The soul is submissive to the person. Yes, Christ’s nature brings people together, But first is brings an individual together in itself, Spirit, Soul, and body. We are one entity. Only in the abstract can a person be divided into three entities. The soul is subject to the spirit of the man, and will seek what the person allows, which if Christ’s nature is imparted, then Christ is in control.
In the soul are what we classify as our emotions, the scriptures say: “be angry, and sin not”. It is a choice of the person.
I can give a lengthy explanation of the soul and its merits and well issues. But not here….
Allan,
Thank you for responding to the blog. I appreciate the clarification you are making.
Yes, we are a three-part being—spirit, soul, and body—yet we are one person. We certainly are not intending to present the soul as a separate independent entity, nor are we saying that the soul itself is evil.
What we meant by the statement, “The soul separates because it seeks its own way,” is that when our soul—our mind, emotions, and will—is still responding out of our natural human reactions rather than being brought under the Lordship of Christ, we can choose our own way instead of His.
God has given us a will, and we make choices. As you pointed out, even our emotions are not automatically sinful. Scripture says, “Be ye angry, and sin not” (Ephesians 4(26)). The issue is not that we have emotions, thoughts, or desires, but whether we allow them to govern us apart from what the Lord is speaking and working within our spirit.
This is also part of the struggle of faith: believing and obeying God’s Word in spite of what we may see, think, or feel at the moment.
As Christ’s nature is formed in us, there is a greater harmony within the whole person—spirit, soul, and body. Our thoughts, emotions, and will increasingly come into agreement with what the Lord is working within us. From that inward oneness comes a greater ability to walk in oneness with one another through love, humility, forgiveness, and submission to the Father.
So I think we are saying much the same thing. The wording in the blog was intended to describe the soul operating independently of the Lord, not to suggest that the soul itself is separate from the person or contrary to God.